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Dealing with L & R can be complicated because you don't always get the same answer. Like the general public, some reps are nicer then others and I'm sure their mood on a particular day affects what they tell you. After years of dealing with L & R, I've learned that being nice goes a long, long way. Acting like you're entitled (which nobody is) or threatening seldom works. Imagine being on the other end and having someone yelling at you. How much would you want to help them?

At the end of the day, being reasonable gets you very far and the secret is too be nice and keep trying.

Dealing with L & R can be complicated because you don't always get the same answer. Like the general public, some reps are nicer then others and I'm sure their mood on a particular day affects what they tell you. After years of dealing with L & R, I've learned that being nice goes a long, long way. Acting like you're entitled (which nobody is) or threatening seldom works. Imagine being on the other end and having someone yelling at you. How much would you want to help them?

At the end of the day, being reasonable gets you very far and the secret is too be nice and keep trying.

I couldn't agree with you more. That's why I didn't reciprocate with a rude attitude. I'll just try again on another day.

Been a client for several years, there's 4 phones on the account, this one has the most out of all of them.
One phone has the same plan $50 minus the 330LD Minutes.
One phone has $55/mo, 200 daytime minutes, E/W @ 6PM, Canada Wide Calling, Flex Data starting at 1GB, VM3/CID/CW/CC, Nation Wide 10, Unlimited Text
Last phone has $60/mo, 200 daytime minutes, E/W @ 6PM, Canada Wide Calling, Flex Data starting at 1GB, VM3/CID/CW/CC, Nation Wide 10, Unlimited Text

The first 2 phones are GS3's, the 3rd is an iPhone 4 (fully paid for), the 4th is an iPhone 5.
The 2 GS3's are generally changed once a year to new phones.

Need some advice on what is reasonable to ask for

I could use some advice on how much I could improve my current rate plan. I'm a somewhat long term Telus customer with two lines (both off contract now) plus a tablet data flex plan. Both lines have identical rate plans as of today:

As of the end of the month, we're cutting the cord and turning off our landline phone so our cell phone usage will probably increase quite a bit. I'm not worried about calls between my wife and I as we are covered by the "Family Calling" and "Family Calling LD" aspects of our current voice plan.

But now we'll be receiving and making LD calls to relatives on a more regular basis so I'm trying to get some Canada-wide LD minutes added to the plan (hopefully without increasing our monthly bill). I've looked at the current promo plans that offer Canada-wide calling but all of those bundle the data and voice together and it looks like I'd have to give up my 6GB data plans to do it and even then, my monthly bill goes up significantly.

On the other hand, LD add-on packages look like they'd $20/mo per line for unlimited nationwide calling.

So my long-winded question is this:

Given that I have no other discounts applied to my account, how reasonable do you all think it is for me to ask retentions to give me the Nationwide 20 package on each line for free (or a minimal charge, for instance $5/mo)? Reasonable? Pipe dream?

I'm open to any and all suggestions on how to set this up so that my bill stays roughly the same.

Have you looked at the Koodo plans ?
They do have a all in plan including ld and 5 gig data for $70... That would be about the best you are probably going to do with Telus.. Try calling loyalty and see what they can do for you...

A friend of mine is a truck driver and uses a lot of anytime minutes and long distance. His last bill was $500+ and he called me asking for help. I walked him through a plan of attack.

Making a long story short... TELUS cut his bill in half and gave him a $60 plan which includes unlimited nation-wide calling and 1 GB of data. I'm sure that's a Western plan but never bothered looking it up. He's now a very happy camper.

I called Retention and they said that unless I sign up for a new contract, my rates are going to go up. This is because the Free incoming will drop off my account and I will have to pay $15/month to get it back.

That was it. I asked 3 different ways if there was nothing else available to me to reduce my expenses. Answer was no.

Let's set aside for a moment how crappy that is (I assume that if I were actually calling to shut the account down, they would relent and give me the free incoming back).

I called Rogers because I have TV and internet with them. Here's the deal. The rep said that to get everything I have now, it would cost $78.50/month (with 8% bundling discount!). Because of the way the plans are structured, I actually get a bit more - free texts to the US, and 30 voicemails vs 10. However, and this is a big however, she said that in 6 months I can call her back (she was in the Loyalty department. I got her by choosing 'cancel services') and at that time they would give me $20 off my monthly rate! I then said 'Ok, can you put a note on my account saying that you told me this, and that it will be honored'? She said no, but she said she had been there for 8 years and that the 6 month threshold had always been there and that it recently went up from $15 to $20.

So... that's a way better deal for me if I look at even a 1-year period.

Any comments? Could Telus really be that far away, especially considering I've been with them for literally 10 years and on contract the entire time?

Rogers is screwing with you too. Both Telus and Rogers give a 70$ plan with Unlimited Local talk, 1 GB of data your caller id and vm 3. Add on voice mail 10 at 5$ through Telus, and you're on a cheaper rate still. Also, Telus texting plans automatically give you unlimited texting to the us.

Okay, I want to believe that, but I can't see how. Telus told me that even if I ditch my current grandfathered Manitoba plan and start from scratch, there was no way they could match the current features I have and keep the price from going up. For example, with the hypothetical $70 plan + $5 voicemail 10, that's before taxes, right? So that's not a cheaper rate than what I have now and not cheaper than Rogers.

Yes, you are right that when I described my current plan, both Telus and Rogers quoted me with Unlimited Talk and 1 GB data.

I am no huge fan of Rogers, believe me, but after 6 months the Rogers plan goes to $58.50 with all taxes included! I don't see anything that suggests Telus will even come close to that. Part of this is because I get 8% off with Rogers bundling.